Business briefs
The Department of Energy's Savannah River Operations Office (SR) has received the FY2000 Human Resources/Equal Employment Opportunity Best Practices award from the Federal Personnel Management Institute. The award is presented annually by FPMI to a single federal organization that has demonstrated innovation and creativity in providing internal human resources, EEO and related services.

Pocket change
Finding the best long-distance phone plan can be a daunting task. There are hundreds of competing plans to choose from, and their particulars seem to change on a weekly basis.

Business calendar
This is a listing of business-related events in the Aiken-Augusta area.

Sabbatical possible with planning
If you've ever dreamed of taking a block of time off to travel, volunteer, study or just plain rest, a ``mini-retirement'' might be for you. More and more people are finding creative ways to take midcareer sabbaticals in their 30s, 40s or 50s in exchange for working a little bit longer in their later years. Consider these tips:

Weekly gas survey
Here is a list of unleaded gasoline prices from six area gas stations.

Reinventing the wheel
TAIPEI, Taiwan - For decades, cheap labor and reliable factories made Taiwan one of the world's best places to churn out sneakers, bicycles and, most recently, computers. But now, business is heading elsewhere, and Taiwanese are getting worried.

Business briefs
NEW YORK - Stocks fell sharply Friday as profit worries again rattled technology shares and an unexpected drop in unemployment rekindled fears of inflation.

In the know
BEST RECIPE: Diane Robillard's recipe for Chicken Delicious was the winner of The Augusta Chronicle's Southern Living Cooking School Show recipe contest. Mrs. Robillard's baked, marinated chicken dish received 78 votes.

Fate intervened in hanging of innocent man
Young Will Purvis proclaimed his innocence all along.
In court he swore he was nowhere near the Mississippi farm owned by the man he was accused of murdering the year before.

Novel's character became real to author
Terry Kay is in love.
The object of the Athens, Ga., author's affection is a mysterious beauty with an innate ability to connect and communicate. Her name is Lottie, and she lives in the pages of Mr. Kay's new novel, Taking Lottie Home.

Aiken bus driver discovers body
AIKEN - An Aiken County school bus driver discovered the body of an 18-year-old male Friday morning lying on Horseshoe Bend Road near South Carolina Highway 19, and it appears he was shot, authorities said.

Scalpers will win big in matchup
ATHENS, Ga. - Today's Geor-gia-Tennessee football game has fans scrambling for seats as ticket prices soar, hotel rooms get scarce and Athens restaurants prepare for what could be their biggest night of the year.

Correction
An article in Friday's editions of The Augusta Chronicle about a State Law Enforcement Division investigation into a teen's traffic death should have identified the victim of telephone threats as Thomas Ellis of Jackson. Also, the article should have said that the threats were made by people who believed Mr. Ellis had possession of a keg of beer or knew who had possession of the keg.

Officials find slain teen's car
AIKEN - Whoever killed a West Columbia teen-ager found dead two days ago apparently torched his car before dumping the body.

Making tracks
The Augusta Chronicle, the state Department of Transportation and city traffic engineers want to keep Augustans informed about when and where roadwork is scheduled to occur. An updated list of area road projects for the week appears Sundays in The Chronicle.

Flag flap shadows election
AIKEN - Politicking at the Pelion Peanut Party in September, veteran Sen. Nikki Setzler - a Democrat in a district that has gone Republican during his 22-year tenure - asked one longtime supporter if he could count on his vote this time.

High flying captivates audience
WINDSOR - Marcus Kim is an old pro at stealing the show - and the skies - away from older radio-control pilots. But the thrill of it only gets sweeter.

Pupils may move to schools nearer home
Pupils who travel excessive distances to school or attend classes in portable buildings could get a chance to change schools under legislation approved in Georgia's Education Reform Act.

Homicide cases remain open
During this year's hottest stretch of summer, two women were slain in the metro Augusta area, approximately a month apart.

Woman files suit against city over firing
A former Augusta Regional Airport employee is suing the city, claiming she was fired because she added her voice to a chorus of sexual harassment complaints against airport management.

Sheriff offered to give up
DOUGLAS, Ga. - Coffee County Sheriff Carlton Evans knew he was the target of a state and federal investigation in May, but the U.S. attorney's office in Macon turned down his offer to surrender voluntarily if he was indicted.

OneGeorgia Authority ready to go to work
ATLANTA - The state's newest weapon for bringing prosperity to rural Georgia is now officially in business and ready to employ $1.6 billion during the next 25 years for economic development in the poorest counties.

Clouds can't derail festival
BURNETTOWN - The sixth annual Horse Creek/Midland Valley Sassafras Festival entered its second day Friday afternoon under threatening skies but with the enthusiasm of its participants intact.

Are you undecided?
If you're a registered voter who has yet to decide on a candidate in the Nov. 7 presidential election, The Augusta Chronicle wants your input. The Chronicle is seeking 10 undecided voters to watch the Oct. 11 debate between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

Church concern for safety doubted
It's a sad day when special interest groups can sway Augusta's elected commissioners on their moral and emotional decisions.
Dan Perry, Augusta

U.S. troops, arms slashed 40 percent
During this campaign we've been hearing a lot of rhetoric from the Clinton administration concerning the state of our military forces, and specifically how they have not been reduced in readiness or strength.
Donald Thorstad, Augusta

Limited refineries hike oil prices
In a recent Reuters interview Saudi Arabia's former oil minister Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, in describing the world oil problem, said, ``The stone age came to an end, not for a lack of stones, and the oil age will end, but not for a lack of oil.''
Sam Booher, Martinez

Urges S.C. to vote down lottery
South Carolina voters will be asked next month to decide if there is to be a lottery in their state. This is a moral issue on which all citizens should express their opinion.
A.M. Goggans, New Ellenton

Putting down dogs shocks writer
I was shocked to see on Channel 6 News that dogs were taken from the woman's home who was trying to help while the shelter was under quarantine. According to the report, the dogs were taken to the shelter and almost immediately euthanized.
Alicia Phillips, Augusta

Backs problem solver for school board
I recommend Bob Gardner be elected Richmond County's 10th District School Board representative. Mr. Gardner is well established in Augusta. His children were educated in our public schools and his grandchildren are currently enrolled.
Renee Bell, Augusta

Support for safer Washington Road
This note is in response to the Oct. 2 letter by Peggy McCorkle. We would like to thank her for alerting us to the Department of Transportation's plan to put a concrete median down the middle of Washington Road.
J. Hart, Augusta

Supports Brad Owens for school seat
I support Brad Owens for the Richmond County Board of Education. Mr. Owens supports opening a vocational magnet school, which would help meet the demand for skilled labor here in our community andor prepare students for higher technical training.
Walter Williams, Augusta

Serbia's butcher falls
The Roman emperor Claudian is reputed to have said, ``He who strikes terror into others is himself in continued fear.'' So it is with longtime Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic, who is now feeling the fear that he once instilled in so many throughout his wars and purges.

Restaurants treat teens unfairly
As the doors open into a restaurant, the judgmental looks have already begun. We place our name on a 20-minute list, and behind us, a respectable group of adults also put their name on the same list.
Ryan Armstrong, Augusta

Uniforms no solution to problems
As a working parent, I look to teachers and educators to help teach my children right from wrong. Teachers have our children more often than do we working parents.
Carla Tate, Blythe

Minimum wage hike editorial insults
The Chronicle's Sept. 27 editorial, ``Another wasteful hike,'' was an insult to every individual who has ever worked a 40-plus-hours week at minimum or just above minimum wages and counted change at the end of the week to put food in their mouth, or gone without health care, just so they wouldn't be in the position of having to accept food stamps, Medicaid, etc.
Andrea Zeh, North Augusta

Wants NAACP to be disbanded
Regarding the serious problem that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has created between blacks and whites:
Steve Simpson, Martinez

Vice president unworthy to be president
Before voting in the presidential election, Americans need to know who Vice President Al Gore is. He is the No. 2 man in the most corrupt administration in this nation's history.
John T. Petrozello. Martinez

Gore's short stories
It's a sad commentary when our vice president can't be let out in public by his campaign staff without them worrying about what truth-stretching story he'll spin this time.

To improve education, ax the coach
There has been much talk this election season about education. This is always a safe subject, much like motherhood and the flag. Who isn't in favor of those things?
Vernon H. Johnson, Mesena

Lovely adoptees
I am disgusted with women who kill their babies. My granddaughter has adopted two boys, one of which she had to go to Russia to get. The other she adopted here. They are both lovely children.
Mrs. Bobbie Melton, Augusta

Murder victim's friend rips police
I write this letter to follow-up on a point that was made about a young black woman and her unborn daughter murdered in front of her home June 1.
Jerryling Griffin, Augusta

A broken tax system
One costly mistake after another has now resulted in Augusta-Richmond County's property tax bills being at least three weeks late, probably forcing city government and the school system to borrow money to meet expenses. It's a financial nightmare that hinges on one fact: Augusta's computerized tax system is dysfunctional.

The grown-ups have landed
Americans watching the vice presidential debates Thursday night couldn't help but wonder whether Dick Cheney and Joseph Lieberman should be at the top of their tickets, instead of George W. Bush and Al Gore. The VP debaters conducted themselves like adults, with dignity and mutual respect, which only heightened the impression that the earlier presidential debate was more like a middle school cafeteria food fight than a serious discussion between two grown people seeking the nation's highest office.

Zero good sense
This newspaper has always supported ``zero tolerance'' for weapons, as well as drugs, in public schools. Also in sports, there should be zero tolerance for performance-enhancing drugs.

Democrats make workers wealthy
Regarding John Gallagher's Oct. 3 Chronicle letter. Mr. Gallagher deceives himself when he writes Democrats have deserted workers and that their claims for economic well-being is deceitful. Let's look at the record:
Lowell Greenbaum, Ph.D., Augusta

1 in 5 will get flu this winter
If you're not on the A list for getting a flu shot this fall - and most of us aren't - better hope for a late and weak flu season.

Ozone hole stretches over city for first time
WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica stretched over a Chilean city when it ballooned to a record size last month, the first time it has reached a population center, scientists said Thursday.